The Power of Vidoe Blogging - Business Insider Ramon Ray & the Smallbiztechnology.com Team

Also called vlogging, video blogging allows anyone with a YouTube
account and a video camera to post their thoughts on anything from the
latest fashions to foreign policy. In a time when the mass public turns
to TV news instead of newspapers and movies instead of books, video
blogging looks to take over where blogging left off. But how can your
business harness the power of this technology?

For years, marketing experts touted the importance of a regularly
updated blog on business websites. This provided fresh content that
would not only keep visitors coming back, but kept a site high in search
rankings. As YouTube grew in
popularity, camera-friendly individuals turned to video blogging as a
way to express their opinions and thoughts. As it grew, corporations and
marketing gurus began to realize the power behind posting short,
informational videos on one of the most popular social networking sites.

It’s impossible to ignore the importance of YouTube, a site that boasts two billion views per day, according to the site. This is “nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major U.S. television networks combied,” according to YouTube.
The key for small businesses is directing a chunk of those two billion
daily views to their posted content, which means merely posting ads for
services will not cut it. Businesses have to find a way to post video
blogs that will provide content users need.

Social media coach Jeff Bullas points to a few video blogging success stories as examples, including Vancouver real estate agent Ian Watt,
who eschewed traditional real estate marketing practices such as flyers
and cold calls in favor of social media marketing. Watt is considered a
leader in the Vancouver real estate market, ranking in the top one
percent of members of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board. Watt
doesn’t just show his properties on YouTube, as many video bloggers do, he provides valuable information for home owners and buyers that prompt YouTubers to watch.

If you’re a computer repair shop, provide valuable tech tips. If you
own a bridal shop, do a series of informational videos for brides-to-be.
The key is to use specific titles, such as, “How to change a toner
cartridge” or “How to choose a bridal veil.” Introduce yourself at the
beginning of the video and include a shot of the outside of your shop,
as well as the address, at the end. Be prepared for the possibility that
many of your visits may come from out-of-towners, but you’ll still be
getting your name out there. To help bring locals to your site, be sure
to put your city in your video description somewhere. This will help it
show up in searches if someone, for example, types in “Vancouver real
estate.”

There’s no denying video blogging is here to stay. With so many
videos to choose from, it’s important for businesses to provide valuable
content that will drive YouTube members to their YouTube channel.